World Heritage Centre

2 EXT.COM 2 Election of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee

wh-support@unesco.org — Wed, 29 Oct 1997 00:00:00 EST

The Committee elected Mr. Francesco Francioni (Italy) as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee and Mr. Noel Fattal (Lebanon) as Rapporteur. The Vice-Chairs elected were: Benin, Ecuador, Japan, Morocco and the United States of America.

3 EXT.COM III.1 Introduction to the Extraordinary Session

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

The Chairperson drew the attention of the Committee to the two main documents of relevance to their deliberations. WHC-99/CONF.205/5 entitled "Report on the state of conservation of Kakadu National Park, Australia" provided a summary of information and deliberations concerning Kakadu up until the date of finalization of the document at the end of May. WHC-99/CONF.205/INF.4 included the record of the deliberations of the twenty-third session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee (5-10 July 1999).

3 EXT.COM III.2 Introduction to the Extraordinary Session

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

The Chairperson reminded Committee members that a mission was sent to Kakadu National Park in late 1998, at the request of the twenty-second session of the Bureau in June 1998. The mission was led by the former Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Professor Francioni of Italy. Professor Francioni reported on the mission at the twentysecond session of the Committee in Kyoto in 1998.

3 EXT.COM III.3 Introduction to the Extraordinary Session

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

The mission report (WHC-99/CONF.205/INF.3A) focused primarily on ascertained and potential dangers to the World Heritage values of Kakadu National Park posed by the Jabiluka mining proposal, and presented a total of 16 recommendations.

3 EXT.COM XI.1 Decision of the Third Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee concerning Kakadu National Park, Australia

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

The Committee,

(a) Emphasizes the importance of Articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11 of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. In particular the Committee emphasizes Article 6 (1) which states that:

Whilst fully respecting the sovereignty of the States on whose territory the cultural and natural heritage (...) is situated, and without prejudice to property right provided by national legislation, the States Parties to this Convention recognize that such heritage constitutes a world heritage for whose protection it is the duty of the international community as a whole to cooperate.

(b) Recalls that the twenty-second session of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto (1998) expressed "grave concern" over the ascertained and potential dangers to the World Heritage cultural and natural values of Kakadu National Park posed by the proposal for uranium mining and milling at Jabiluka;

(c) Notes that the deliberations of the twenty-third session of the Bureau and of the third extraordinary session of the Committee demand the continuous serious consideration of the conditions at Kakadu National Park by the Committee with reference to Section III, in particular Paragraph 86 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage;

(d) Expresses its deep regret that the voluntary suspension of construction of the mine decline at Jabiluka until the twenty-third session of the Committee (requested by the twenty-second session of the Committee) has not taken place;

(e) Is gravely concerned about the serious impacts to the living cultural values of Kakadu National Park posed by the proposal to mine and mill uranium at Jabiluka. The Committee is of the opinion that confidence and trust building through dialogue are crucial for there to be any resolution of issues relating to the proposal to mine and mill uranium at Jabiluka. In particular, a more substantial and continuous dialogue needs to be established between the Australian Government and the traditional owners of the Jabiluka Mineral Lease, the Mirrar Aboriginal people;

(f) Is concerned about the lack of progress with the preparation of a cultural heritage management plan for Jabiluka;

(g) Continues to have significant reservations concerning the scientific uncertainties relating to mining and milling at Jabiluka.

3 EXT.COM X1.2 Decision of the Third Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee concerning Kakadu National Park, Australia

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

The Committee,

(a) Recognizes, with appreciation, that the Australian Government, Australian Supervising Scientist, advisory bodies (IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM) and independent scientific panel (ISP) established by the International Council of Science (ICSU) have provided the reports requested by the twenty-second session of the Committee (Kyoto, 1998);

(b) Acknowledges that there are indications that a new dialogue between the Mirrar Aboriginal people and the Australian Government has begun in relation to issues concerning the Jabiluka uranium mine and mill. The Committee considers this to be an essential step in finding a constructive solution to the issues raised by the UNESCO mission to Kakadu National Park and encourages the Australian Government to intensify their efforts in this regard and pursue with vigor the deepening of its dialogue with the Mirrar Aboriginal people;

(c) Notes that the Australian Government has stated (in document WHC-99/CONF.205/INF.3G entitled "Protecting Kakadu National Park" submitted by the Australian Government) that "full scale commercial mining at Jabiluka would only be reached about 2009 following the scaling down of production at the Ranger mine so that two mines would not be in full production simultaneously". The Committee further notes that the Minister for Environment and Heritage has stated that there shall be no parallel commercial scale operation of the Ranger and Jabiluka uranium mines located in enclaves surrounded by, but not included, in Kakadu National Park. The Committee considers that it is the clear responsibility of the Australian Government to regulate the activities of a private company, such as Energy Resources of Australia, Inc, in relation to the proposed mining and milling activities at Jabiluka to ensure the protection of the World Heritage values of Kakadu National Park;

(d) Notes that the Australian Supervising Scientist (ASS) has assessed the report of the independent scientific panel (ISP) established by the International Council of Science (ICSU) and seeks a dialogue with the ISP to resolve outstanding questions relating to scientific issues concerning mining and milling at Jabiluka.

3 EXT.COM XI.3 Decision of the Third Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee concerning Kakadu National Park, Australia

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

With consideration of 1 and 2 above, the Committee will remain vigilant in reviewing and assessing the progress made by the Australian Government. To this end the Committee requests that the Australian Government submit a progress report on the following issues by 15 April 2000 for examination by the twenty-fourth session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee:

(a) progress made with cultural mapping of the Jabiluka Mineral Lease and the Boyweg-Almudj site and its boundaries and the completion of the cultural heritage management plan with the necessary co-operation of the Mirrar, and appropriate involvement of other stakeholders and ICOMOS and ICCROM;

(b) progress in the implementation, in response to the Kakadu Region Social Impact Study (KRSIS), of a comprehensive package of social and welfare benefits, together with the Northern Territory Government, for the benefit of the Aboriginal communities of Kakadu (including the Mirrar);

(c) more precise details of the output and scale of any parallel activities at the Ranger and Jabiluka uranium mines as well as on any legal provisions taken in that respect.

3 EXT.COM XI.4 Decision of the Third Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee concerning Kakadu National Park, Australia

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 12 Jul 1999 00:00:00 EST

To resolve the remaining scientific issues, such as those raised in the ISP report, the Committee asks ICSU to continue the work of the ISP (with the addition of any additional members) to assess, in co-operation with the supervising Scientist and IUCN, the Supervising Scientist's response to the ISP report. The report of the ISP's assessment should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre by 15 April 2000 for examination by the twenty-fourth session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 2000.

4 EXT.COM 2 Election of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee

wh-support@unesco.org — Sat, 30 Oct 1999 00:00:00 EST

The Committee elected Mr. Abdelaziz Touri (Morocco) as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee and Ms. Anne Lammila (Finland) as Rapporteur. The Vice-Presidents elected were: Australia, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, and Zimbabwe.

4 GA 1-6 Opening of the General Assembly by the Director-General or his representative

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

The Fourth General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage met at Unesco Headquarters in Paris on 28 October 1983 during the 22nd session of the General Conference.
Sixty-four of the seventy-five States which were parties to the Convention as at 28 October 1983 and which thus had the right to vote, were represented at the meeting, namely : Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany (Fed. Rep. of), Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zimbabwe.
Representatives of the following States not Parties to the Convention also participated as observers in the General Assembly; Austria, China, Finland, Gabon, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Luxemburg, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands and Sweden. Representatives of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) also attended the meeting in an observer capacity.
The list of participants to the General Assembly is given in annex 1 to this document.
In accordance with the Rules of procedure of the General Assembly the Secretariat of the Assembly was assumed by the Secretariat of UNESCO .
In opening the meeting on behalf of the Director-General, the Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Makaminan Makagiansar, noted with pleasure the success of the Convention which 76 States had so far ratified or accepted : 51 properties had been inscribed on the World Heritage List since the last General Assembly, bringing to 136 the number of sites and monuments inscribed. This list had been drawn up with all due impartiality by the Committee which had been able, with the help of ICOMOS and IUCN, to define criteria and procedures for the evaluation of nominations. The Assistant Director-General then underlined the importance of public information activities designed to associate the public as widely as possible with the conservation of the world heritage and he described the activities undertaken in this regard by UNESCO as well as several initiatives of States Parties. With respect to technical co-operation activities from which 31 States Parties had already benefitted, Mr. Makagiansar indicated that the World Heritage Fund had contributed $ 1,100,000 for the training of specialists, $ 1,200,000 for safeguarding works, $ 300,000 for emergency assistance and approximately $ 100,000 for preparatory assistance. In concluding, the Assistant Director-General for Culture expressed his concern at the delays in the payment of mandatory and voluntary contributions of States, which had reached such a level that they risked to impede the implementation of the Convention, at a time when the threats to the heritage from the aggressions of the modern world were on the increase.

4 GA 7 Election of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and Rapporteur of the General Assembly

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

7. The General Assembly elected by acclamation Mr. Beschaouch (Tunisia), as Chairman,. the representatives of Brazil, Bulgaria, Malawi and Pakistan as Vice-chairmen and Mlle Mireille Jardin (France) as Rapporteur.

4 GA 8 Adoption of the Agenda of the General Assembly

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

8. The agenda of the session was adopted without amendment.

4 GA 9-11 Examination of the Statement of Accounts of the World Heritage Fund

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

9. The representative of the Bureau of the Comptroller introduced document CLT-83/CONF.022/2 by which the accounts of the Fund were submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the World Heritage Fund. He drew attention to the accounts for the financial period which terminated on 31 December 1980 given in annex I of the document as well as to the interim statement for the three-year financial period 1981-1983 drawn up as at 31 July 1983 set out in annex II. The Assembly was informed of contributions which had been received from several States Parties since 31 July 1983 as follows :

Country Amount Year of contribution

Afghanistan 199,00 balance 1982, $ 9,00 for 1983

Algeria 4,780,00 1982 and 1983

Argentina 6,419,05 balance 1981, 1^st payment 1982

Cyprus 199,00 1983

Iraq 2,390,00 1982

Libya 13,742,00 1981, 1982 and 1983

Nepal 199,00 1983

Niger 199,00 1981

Oman 199,00 1983

Pakistan 1,394,00 balance 1982, $ 1,279,27 for 1983

Portugal 3,784,00 1983

Tunisia 597,00 1983

10. A certain number of delegations informed the Assembly that steps were underway in their countries for the prompt payment of their contributions.
11. The General Assembly then took note of the accounts of the World Heritage Fund for the financial period ending 31 December 1980 as well as the interim statement of the accounts for the three-year period 1981-1983 drawn up as at 31 July 1983. The Assembly also took note of the information provided by the representative of the Comptroller concerning the contributions received since 31 July 1983.

4 GA 12 Determination of the amount of the contributions to the World Heritage Fund in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the World Heritage Convention

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

12. On the proposal of the Chairman, the General Assembly decided unanimously to maintain for the financial period 1984-1985 the amount of the contribution to be paid to the World Heritage Fund foreseen in Article 16, paragraph 1, of the Convention at 1% of the contribution of States Parties to the Regular Budget of UNESCO .

4 GA 17 Other business

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

17. The Assistant Director-General for Culture offered his congratulations to those States which had been elected to the He formulated the wish that the interest of States for the Convention which had been manifest during the Fourth General Assembly notably by the numerous candidatures submitted for election to the Committee would be pursued by the effective participation of all States Parties in the implementation of the Convention.

4 GA 18 Closure of the session

wh-support@unesco.org — Fri, 28 Oct 1983 00:00:00 EST

18. Before declaring the meeting closed, the Chairman congratulated the Secretariat for its work in the implementation of the He expressed the hope that the Secretariat would continue to receive, on the part of UNESCO as well as under the World Heritage Fund, the necessary assistance for the pursuit of the work accomplished. In concluding he announced that the 7th Session of the World Heritage Committee would be held in Florence from 5 – 9 December 1983 at the generous invitation of the Italian authorities.

5 EXT.COM II.4 Election of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee

wh-support@unesco.org — Thu, 01 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

4. The Committee elected Mr Henrik Lilius (Finland) as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee and Mr Francisco Lopez Morales (Mexico) as Rapporteur. The Vice-Presidents elected were: Egypt, Greece, Hungary, South Africa and Thailand.

5 GA 1-6 Opening of the General Assembly by the Director-General

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 04 Nov 1985 00:00:00 EST

The Fifth General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage met in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 4 November 1985, during the 23rd session of the General Conference.
Sixty-eight of the eighty-seven States which were parties to the Convention as at 4 November 1985 and which thus had the right to vote, were represented at the meeting, namely : Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Yemen, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany (Federal Rep. of), Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Representatives of the following States not Parties to the Convention also participated as observers in the General Assembly: Angola, Austria, Finland, Japan, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Netherlands, Philippines and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. A representative of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (AIECSO) also attended the meeting in an observer capacity.
The list of participants to the General Assembly is given in annex I to this document.
In accordance with the Rules of procedure of the General Assembly the Secretariat of the Assembly was assumed by the Secretariat of Unesco.
In opening the General Assembly, the Director-General drew attention to the unprecedented undertaking inaugurated in the Convention, namely the identification of cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value which together form the common heritage of all nations. An ever-increasing participation in the action taken to this end was evident throughout the world: the number of States Parties had increased from 76 to 87 since the last General Assembly and the number of sites included in the World Heritage List had risen from 136 to 186. The Director-General went on to describe the active role assumed by the Committee for the protection of monuments and sites at the national level and in building up the World Heritage List. The efforts of the Committee were evidently subject to the means which the international community made available to the World Heritage Fund, and the Director-General informed the Assembly of the funds allocated to the training of specialists, emergency assistance, preparatory assistance and for the safeguarding of sites included in the World Heritage List. However, the situation of the Fund gave rise to some concern, due on the one hand to the non-payment by certain States Parties of their mandatory contributions and on the other hand to the fact that voluntary contributions had not attained the expected level. In concluding, the Director-General underlined the need to make the Convention better known and he mentioned the publications which had appeared on the subject since the last General Assembly.

5 GA 7 Election of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and Rapporteur of the General Assembly

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 04 Nov 1985 00:00:00 EST

7. The General Assembly elected by acclamation H. Exc. Mr. Gough Whitlam (Australia), as Chairman, the representatives of Bangladesh, Hungary, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Madagascar as Vice-Chairmen and H. Exc. Mr. Marino Jaramillo (Colombia) as Rapporteur.

5 GA 8 Adoption of the Agenda of the General Assembly

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 04 Nov 1985 00:00:00 EST

8. The agenda of the session was adopted without amendment.